Page 95 of Don't Say a Word

Benny didn’t look much like his brother. He was taller, skinnier, more awkward, with brown hair that often fell in front of his eyes like a sheepdog. But the smile was identical, and he flashed it when he saw her leaning against the fence.

“Ange! Were you waiting for me?”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling. It was impossible to be sullen around Benny. Even with his shit father, he was always happy. “Do you have a couple minutes?”

“Sure. We’ll walk slow.”

They walked along the fence that separated student parking from the practice field.

“Chris said you’re not returning his calls,” Benny said.

“I don’t want to talk about Chris.”

“He misses you.”

“Benny—” she said in warning.

“Okay, okay,” he said, hands up, a half smile on his face. “I get it.”

He didn’t, but that was okay. “It’s about Elijah,” she said.

“Oh. Were you, um, seeing him?” Benny glanced at her, but then looked straight ahead, his face red. She wanted to laugh. He was sixteen but still shy talking about relationships.

“No, we were just friends.”

“I thought so, but...” His voice trailed off.

“He was one of my best friends,” she said. “And I’m worried I didn’t see everything going on with him.” She hesitated. How did she broach the subject? “Have you heard anything?”

“About?”

“Elijah. At work.”

He shook his head. “Not really. In fact, no one even talked about him until a PI came in and started asking questions.”

“Margo.”

“She talk to you?”

“Yeah. Elijah’s mom hired her to find out what happened.”

“I thought he OD’d.”

“No,” she said emphatically. “I mean, someone drugged him and he died. He wasn’t an addict.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I do, but...”

“But what?” She stopped walking. “Benny, what do you know?”

“I need the job at the Cactus Stop because I have to pay my insurance on the truck or I can’t drive. And they pay well. But... it’s kind of a weird culture there.”

“How so?”

“Tony, the assistant manager, is always high. It’s not illegal, I get it, but he shouldn’t be stoned when he’s working, you know? It’s not like he’s keeping it a big secret, so Elijah must have known.”